Plural compartment refrigeration apparatus



Oct. 19, 1954 H. w. SCHAEFER PLURAL COMPARTMENT REFRIGERATION APPARATUSOriginal Filed Dec. 8, 1952 INVEN TOR.

Patented Oct. 19, 1954 PLURAL COMPABTMENT REFRIGERATION APPARATUS HaroldW. Schaefer, Philadelphia, Pa assignor to;

Philco, Corporation, Philadelphia, Pa., a corpoation ofr nnsy aContinuation ofapplication. Serial No. 324,713, This appli ationFebruary 25, 1953, Serial No. 338,673"

December 8; 1952.

I 6 Claims.

This; invention relates to refrigeration apparatus, being particularlyconcerned with lural compartment refrigerators of the type in which itis possible to maintain the several compartments under differenttemperature conditions. More specifically the invention has to do v withrefrigerators of the above-mentioned kind, in which provision is madefor varying the relative sizes of the compartments as, for example, byvarying the ratio of freezer volume tototal storage volume, the presentdisclosure being a continuation of the subject matter described andclaimed in my co-pending application bearing Serial No. 324,713, filedDecember 8, 1952, now abandoned.

Broadly, it is an object of my invention to make it possible to vary therelative sizes of the compartments in the simplest and most ex.-peditious manner, and to adjust the refrigerating system in accordancewith the volumetric relation of the compartments in. order that eachcompartment may be maintained within predetermined, optimum temperatureranges.

The apparatus of my invention is particularly featured by the fact thatthe greatest possible degree of freedom in variation in volumetric ratiois provided and, infact, the relative volumes of two compartments maybevaried to such an extent that the entire cabinet functions as a freezerchest, or, alternatively, the entire space within the cabinet isavailable for use at relatively high temperatures, such for example as,are required for the storage of fresh foods.

Accordingly it is an object of the disclosed invention to provide arefrigerator in which the entire space within the cabinet may beoperated either: at a low temperature, for example, at a sub-zerotemperature; or at a relatively high temperature, for example thetemperature adapted for the Storage of fresh foods; or under conditionssuch that any predetermined part of the cabinet volume is maintained ata low temperature, the balance then being maintained at the highertemperature.

Further, my invention has as an object the provision of apparatus of theabove-mentioned kind, in which all that is required to effecttemperature adjustments necessitated by variation of the relative sizesof the compartments, is to position within the cabinet the partitioning7..

means which is employed to divide the cabinet space into thesub-compartments desired.

To achieve the foregoing general objectives the apparatus of thisinvention, briefly described,

comprises a cabinet provided with partitioning means movable to adjustthe relative volumes of the two compartments which lie to either side ofsaid means, together with a refrigeration system which includes aplurality of evaporator portions: disposed along the length of the a net e ap ara usr he clud n means espo ive tav placemen of he partitioninmeanswithin the cabinet, to. controlthe temper,- aturesmaintained at the,severalevaporator portions and therefore within the two, compartrments. In a, preferred embodiment of the in,- vention. the said portionsor sections of the evaporator structure are connected in serieswithsuitable refrigerant circulating means, through the agency of. aplurality of restrictin devices interposed between said sections and,effective, adjustably, to, control the temperatures at the severalevaporator sections. in, accordance with the selected volumetric ratioof the two compartments. Preferably, although not. neces: sarily, the,evaporator sections are controlled, in such a wayas to cause one of thecompartments tobemaintained at temperatures: suitable for storing frozenfoods, and to. cause the other of said compartments to be maintained, attemperaturessuitable for thestorage of fresh foods. As stated, above theflexiblity of the apparatusis alsosuch that the entire, cabinet may,selective,- 1y, be maintained at either the higher or the lowertemperature.

The manner in which the objects and advanr tagesof my invention may bestbe achieved, will be fully understood from a considerationof thefollowing detailed; description taken together with the accompanyingdrawing, the single figure of which is a somewhat diagrammatic il-.-lustration of a, preferred embodiment of the in: vention.

Making detailed reference to the drawing it will be seen that theinvention is therein illustrated; as embodied in apparatus including aninsulated enclosure designated, generally, by the reference numeral I0,this enclosure, for example, comprising the cabinet structure of arefrigerator of the household or domestic type. Partitioning means shownat H extends horizontally through the Compartment, this. partitioningmeans being of material of low thermal conductivity and beingselectively disposable at various other locations within thecompartment, as is represented by the broken line indications appearingat: Ila and H1), suitable means may be employed to support the partitionwith in the cabinet, for example simple pins of the type shown may beutilized for this purpose and it will be observed that the, partitioningmeans may be disposed, at, any one; of the illustra ed levation or t maye remov d ntir lyfr m the cabinet. The partition divides the. spacewithin the cabinet into upper and lower compartments and, with thepartition in the position. shown in full lines, a relatively small com,-partment [2' liesv thereabove, whereas a larger compartment, shown at13, comprises that'portion of:' the total cabinet volume which liesbelow the partition I i. As will be understood from the drawing, andwithout further description, disposition of the partition at either ofthe positions shown at Ila and Ill) results in varying the volumetricrelation between the two compartments :2 and I3.

Preferably, compartment I2 is maintained at a relatively lowtemperature, for examp e a subzero temperature, and compartment I3 ismaintained at a relatively high temperature, for example a storagetemperature in excess of the freezing point of water. The apparatus is,as will later appear, automatically operable to maintain the desiredtemperatures within the two compartments, regardless of the selectedratio of freezer volume to total storage volume. Further, if thepartition I I be completely removed from the cabinet, the entirerefrigerator is conditioned for automatic maintenance of either thehigher or the lower temperature mentioned, depending upon the adjustmentof a cold control to which further reference will be made hereinafter.

To achieve operation of the kind described and, specifically, to providefor automatic maintenance of the space within the refrigerator at thedesired, pre-selected temperatures, a novel refrigeration system isprovided. This system comprises a refrigerant circulating device andsuitable evaporator means including sections spaced along the length ofthe cabinet Ill. In the embodiment illustrated the refrigerantcirculating device takes the form of a condensing unit including amotorcompressor I4 and a condenser I5. Evaporator sections IS, I1, I8and I9, are arranged in heat exchange relation with spaced portions ofthe cabinet structure, and all of the aforesaid elements are connectedin series flow circuit through the agency of refrigerant fiow conduitsincluding a suction line 20 and a continuously open restrictedconnection of the capillary tube type, shown at 2 I.

As will now be understood, control of evapora tor sections I6 and I9,and consequent maintenance of desired temperatures within thecompartments I2 and i3, is accomplished in the simplest possible manner.Specifically temperature control is accomplished in response to the verymovement of partition II which determines the relative sizes of the twocompartments. To this general end auxiliary restricting devices 23 to25, inclusive. are provided, as are by-pass conduits 2? to 29, flowthrough each of the latter being under the control of valve devicesshown at 27a, 28a and 29a. As will later appear, the several valvedevices are controlled by switches illustrated at 3! to 33, each switchincluding a plunger disposed for cooperation with the partition I I atone of its illus trated locations. Each of the valve devices may beplaced across the line L by suitable actuation of its associated switch,as is apparent from the drawing. Similarly, and in accordance with knownpractice, the compressor I4 is energized through a switch device 34responsive to temperatures prevailing at the upper evaporator sec tionI9.

Flow through the by-p-ass conduits may be considered to be the normalcondition of operation, that is, the valves 21a to 29 are of thenormally open type. Any of the valves may be closed by depression of theplunger of the associated switch, and this latter action takes place inresponse to placement of the partition at the level of said associatedswitch. Under the illustrated condition, that is, with the partition I ldisposed at its uppermost location, the plunger of switch device 33 is 4depressed by the partition and valve 29a is therefore placed across theline L and remains closed. Valves 21a and 28a remain open under thiscondition and, as will be understood by those familiar with the art towhich this invention pertains, evaporator sections I6, I1 and I8(disposed below partition I I and restrictor 25) are all maintained atsubstantially the same temperature. By virtue of closure of valve 29a,and consequent inclusion of the auxiliary restrictor 25 in the circuit,the three sections disposed below the partition are maintained at apressure and temperature higher than that prevailing at the upperevaporator section I9. By suitab e design of auxiliary restrictor 25 itis possible to maintain a considerable tem- Y perature differentialbetween section I9 andthe other sections of the evaporator, that is, toop crate the compartment I2 at a desired temperature lower than thetemperature maintained within compartment I3.

If it is desired to increase the low temperature storage volume, ascompared to the total storage volume, the partition may be disposed ateither of the elevations indicated at Ila and Ill: and, assuming thatthe partition be disposed at the location identified at Ma, valve 28a isclosed with the result that auxiliary restrictor 24 is included in thecircuit, the other auxiliary restrictors remaining substantiallylay-passed. Under such conditions the evaporator sections I6 and Il willbe maintained at the higher temperature mentioned, whereas theevaporator sections 18 and I9 will be maintained at a lower value, andcorresponding higher and lower temperature conditions of refrigerationprevail within the two compartments defined by the partition. It will beunderstood without further description that the restrictor and by-passarrangement 2327I is con trollable in precisely the same manner, mereplacement of the partition at location Ilb being sufficient to cause theupper three-quarters of the cabinet to function as a freezer and thelower quarter to serve as a refrigerator.

As indicated above, if it is desired to utilize the entire cabinet ateither the higher or the lower temperature, the partition is removedfrom the cabinet and, as a consequence, each of the valves 27a, 28a, and29a remains open. Under such a condition all sections of the evaporatoroperate at substantially the same pressure and temperature and all partsof the cabinet are therefore maintained at the same temperature.

Since it is possible to operate the entire cabinet under a relativelylow temperature condition, the capacity of the condensing unit is suchas to enable it to maintain the entire volume of the cabinet at thelower temperature mentioned. If this condition is met, it is readilypossible to achieve the various intermedaite temperatures contemplated.As indicated above, cycling of the compressor is controlled from theupper evaporator section I9 and, when the temperature in all or thegreater part of the cabinet is at the higher value, the operating timeof the unit, on a percentage basis, is relatively short. When all ormost of the volume within the cabinet is maintained at the lowertemperature, the percentage running time of the unit is increased.Preferably the control 34' is of the known Sylphon bellows type and, assuch, is provided with a knob or the like, shown at 34a, through theagency of which it is possible to vary the cut-in and cut-offtemperatures, to achieve either the higher or the lower temperaturethroughout the entire cabinet, as desired, and with the partitionremoved as aforesaid.

From the foregoing description it will be understood that by the presentinvention there is provided novel and improved refrigeration apparatusmaking it possible to vary the relative sizes of two refrigeratedcompartments and, con currently, to adjust the refrigerating system inaccordance with the volumetric relation of the compartments, whereby tomaintain each compartment within a predetermined, optimum temperaturerange. The invention is featured by the ease with which temperatureadjustments may be made, the necessary adjustments taking placeautomatically in response to establishment of the desired volumetricratio.

The apparatus is useful for a variety of purposes being capable ofserving as a freezer, as a refrigerator, or as equipment havingprovision for both such services within the same cabinet.

While the refrigeration system is illustrated diagrammatically, it is tobe understood that the various evaporator sections could either bedisposed within the storage area, or could be arranged in heat exchangerelation with exterior surface portions of the cabinet inner linermember. For most purposes the latter arrangement is preferable. Also, inthe broader aspect of the invention, it will be understood that theby-pass conduits may be controlled by the use of apparatus other thanthat specifically illustrated herein. For example it is possible toutilize valves having a lever or plunger extending into a position to beactuated by the partition structure, rather than electrically controlledvalves of the kind shown. It will be understood, however, that theinvention contemplates such changes and modifications as come within thescope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In refrigeration apparatus, a cabinet, a movable partition which may,selectively, be disposed at various locations within the cabinet toprovide a pair of sub-compartments which may be adjusted as tovolumetric ratio, evaporator means including a plurality of evaporatorportions arranged in heat exchange relation with the said pair ofcompartments, said portions being selectively operable at higher orlower refrigerating temperatures, and control means disposed to beactuated by said partition at its various locations and efiective tocause operation of said evaporator portions at either the higher or thelower refrigerating temperature in accordance with the position of saidpartition within the cabinet, disposition of the partition at anyselected location within the cabinet actuating said control means insuch manner that evaporator portions lying to one side of said partitionare maintained at the higher refrigerating temperature and evaporatorportions lying to the other side of said partition are maintained at thelower refrigerating temperature.

2. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1, and further characterized inthat said control means includes a plurality of restrictors eachdisposed in circuit between a pair of adjacent evaporator portions, andin which apparatus said control means further includes means forby-passing said restrictors selectively in accordance with the positionof the partition within said cabinet.

3. Apparatus in accordance with claim 2, and in which said by-passingmeans includes a plurality of switch devices effective to control flowof refrigerant through said by-passing means,

said switch devices being disposed for operation by said partition,selectively, when the latter is disposed at the several locations whichit may occupy within the cabinet.

4. In refrigeration apparatus, a cabinet, partitioning means selectivelydisposable at various locations within the cabinet to divide the spacetherein into a pair of sub-compartments which may be adjusted as tovolumetric ratio, cabinet cooling means comprising elements includingrefrigerant circulating apparatus, a main restrictor, and a plurality ofevaporator portions each carried by wall structure of said cabinet andarranged in heat exchange relation with a corresponding part of thelength of the cabinet, all of the aforesaid elements being connected inseries flow circuit, a plurality of auxiliary restricting devices eachof which is disposed in the circuit between a pair of adjacentevaporator portions, means for by-passing said auxiliary restrictingdevices, and means for disabling said icy-passing means whereby toinclude said auxiliary restricting devices, selectively, in the circuit,said last means being cooperable with said partitioning means to includein the circuit a different auxiliary restricting device for each of theseveral positions which said partitioning means may occupy within thecabinet.

5. In refrigeration apparatus, a cabinet, means providing for divisionof the space within the cabinet into a pair of sub-compartments whichmay be adjusted as to volumetric ratio, cabinet cooling means comprisingelements including refrigerant circulating apparatus, a main restrictorand a plurality of evaporator portions, all of said elements beingconnected in series flow circuit, a plurality of auxiliary restrictingdevices each of which is disposed in the circuit between a pair ofadjacent evaporator portions, and means operable upon adjustment of thevolumetric ratio of said sub-compartments to provide for selectiveby-passing of said auxiliary restricting devices whereby to modify thecooling effect of said evaporator portions in accordance with thevolumetric ratio of said sub-compartments.

6. In refrigeration apparatus, a cabinet, a movable partition which may,selectively, be disposed at various locations within the cabinet toprovide a pair of sub-compartments which may be adjusted as tovolumetric ratio, a heat exchange system including a plurality ofevaporator portions arranged in heat exchange relation with said pair ofcompartments, said system being selectively operable to maintain higheror lower refrigerating temperatures within said pair of compartments,and means situated at the said various locations and actuable by saidpartition to control said system, disposition of the partition at anyselected location within the cabinet actuating said control means insuch manner that the compartment lying to one side of said partition ismaintained at the higher refrigerating temperature and the compartmentlying to the other side of said partition is maintained at the lowerrefrigerating temperature and regardless of the volumetric ratio betweensaid compartments.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 2,103,683 Kalischer Dec. 28, 1937 2,540,956 Morrison Feb. 6,1951 2,633,003 Jordan Mar. 31, 1953 2,635,432 Kleist Apr. 21, 1953

